Casimir effect

The Casimir effect is a force between nearby uncharged surfaces caused by how their boundaries alter quantum electromagnetic fluctuations. For ideal parallel conducting plates in vacuum, the force is attractive.

Quantum vacuum: The lowest-energy state of a quantum field, which can still exhibit fluctuations and correlations. The effect is often described through changes in vacuum fluctuations constrained by the surfaces.
Hendrik Casimir: A Dutch physicist who predicted the force between conducting plates in 1948. His calculation gave the effect its name and its simplest quantitative prediction.
Microelectromechanical systems: Miniature devices combining mechanical components with electrical or electronic elements. Casimir attraction can pull close components together and contribute to stiction.
Electrostatic force: A force between electric charges or charge distributions described by electrostatics. Residual charges can mimic an attraction and must be controlled in force measurements.
Zero-point energy: The residual energy of a quantum system in its lowest-energy state. The difference in field zero-point energies inside and outside the gap predicts the ideal force.
Dirk Polder: A Dutch physicist who co-developed the theory of atom-surface and atom-atom dispersion forces. His work with Casimir helped establish the broader fluctuation-force framework.
Stiction: The unwanted sticking of contacting or closely spaced surfaces in small mechanical devices. A Casimir attraction can help keep released microstructures stuck to their substrates.
Thermal Casimir effect: The temperature-dependent contribution of thermal electromagnetic fluctuations to the Casimir interaction. It modifies the force when thermal field modes become significant.
Boundary conditions: Restrictions specifying how a physical field behaves at the edges of a domain. Conducting boundaries restrict allowed electromagnetic modes between the plates.
Van der Waals force: An intermolecular interaction arising from electrostatic interactions among permanent or fluctuating dipoles. Casimir forces connect macroscopic boundary effects to the same electromagnetic dispersion interactions.

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